News & Comment

Summer research programmes are renowned for encouraging underrepresented minorities (URMs) to pursue STEM careers, but COVID-19 left many students in the United States unable to participate. We created the National Summer Undergraduate Research Project to matchmake students with mentors, enabling 250 URM students to do summer research.

We reflect on why we need the World Health Organization now more than ever.

Efforts to improve representation of Black communities in Nature Microbiology start now.

Action is needed to prevent COVID-19 from casting a long shadow over antimicrobial resistance.

How viruses are related, and how they have evolved and spread over time, can be investigated using phylogenetics. Here, we set out how genomic analyses should be used during an epidemic and propose that phylogenetic insights from the early stages of an outbreak should heed all of the available epidemiological information.

A precision approach to probiotics could address the heterogeneity inherent to probiotic strains, the hosts and their microbiomes. Here, we discuss the steps required to develop precision probiotics: mechanistic studies, phenotypic and target-based discovery strategies, and person-centric trials.

Mutation. The word naturally conjures fears of unexpected and freakish changes. Ill-informed discussions of mutations thrive during virus outbreaks, including the ongoing spread of SARS-CoV-2. In reality, mutations are a natural part of the virus life cycle and rarely impact outbreaks dramatically.

The atmosphere has undergone extensive physico-chemical change due to anthropogenic emissions. The impact on the ecology of the atmospheric microbiome has so far not been considered. Here, we define the scope of change to the atmosphere and identify potential microbial responses.

As the international community responds to an outbreak of coronavirus-induced pneumonia in Wuhan, China, early and open data sharing — which are vital for its control — depend on the trust that the data will not be used without proper attribution to those who generated it.

Nature Microbiology will offer authors the option of publishing a peer-review file that includes anonymous peer-review reports, author responses and our decision letters. We will also request that articles include more source data and are more transparent in reporting data availability.

As microbiome science expands, academic centres scramble to fill many needs, from service provider to industry liaison. A newly created network aims to share strategies and accelerate knowledge transfer, and invites others to join the efforts.

It’s an exciting time to be a microbiologist and we have the honour and privilege of having front-row tickets to see the field develop and progress. As we take stock of the past year, we will count down the days until 2020 by celebrating the field and the season with a microbiology advent calendar.

With drug resistance on the rise, improvements in clinical antibiotic susceptibility testing and investment in widespread implementation are needed to usher in a new generation of diagnostics that can inform on diverse types of drug resistance and quickly predict drug susceptibility with high accuracy.

Attending conferences is an essential part of scientific careers; yet, travelling — particularly by air — can often be an individual’s single largest contribution to their carbon footprint. With increasing calls to substantially cut emissions by as early as 2020, compromises must be made to safeguard the health of our planet.

Faecal microbiota transplantation can efficiently treat recurring Clostridioides difficile infection and is being investigated for other indications. However, strict quality control of the donor stool is necessary to avoid putting patients at unnecessary risk.

Following recent discussions of pervasive ghostwriting of referee reports by early career researchers in the life sciences, we shine a light on the peer review process at Nature Microbiology and hopefully bust some myths along the way.

Long-known to happen in other realms of the microscopic and macroscopic worlds, social interactions in viruses are increasingly being appreciated and have the potential to influence many processes, including viral pathogenesis, resistance to antiviral immunity, establishment of persistence and even life cycle choice.

Access to life-saving vaccines is still a problem for millions around the world, while others endanger public health by refusing available, safe and effective vaccines. Yet some outbreaks increasingly occur in highly vaccinated populations, highlighting the need for further vaccine development to provide long-lasting immunity.

Innovations in teaching STEM subjects can help build critical science literacy and address global economic needs. Virology teachers and researchers are actively developing and integrating innovative educational materials for students, creating engaging teaching programs and improving information platforms for the general public.